Amherst, N.Y. - Trailing 25-7 after the first 10 minutes of action, the St. Thomas Aquinas College Women's Basketball team tried to put together a valiant comeback attempt, but ultimately dropped a 58-50 road decision to Daemen University on Friday at Lumsden Gymnasium.

STAC slips to 3-6 overall and 1-1 in ECC play, while Daemen moves to 7-3 and 3-0.

Syrita Faraj led all scorers with 20 points for the maroon and gold, while Trinity Cheatom (11 points) also recorded double figures in scoring. Danielle DiCintio and Claire Pikett led all Wildcats scorers, tallying 17 points apiece.

St. Thomas Aquinas shot 29.5 percent from the field (18-61), while Daemen shot 33.3 percent (18-54) from the floor and 91.7 percent from the charity stripe (11-12).

STAC NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Eight Spartans logged double-digit minutes in the contest.
• Karolina Jaruseviciute and Trinity Cheatom led the maroon and gold with three assists each on the evening.
• Syrita Faraj hit 7 of her 21 field goal attempts, with Cheatom going 4-for-9 from the floor.
• Daemen out-rebounded STAC by a slim 40-38 margin, with Faraj also grabbing a game-high 10 boards for the Spartans.
• St. Thomas Aquinas picked up seven steals, with the Wildcats turning the ball over on 15 separate occasions.
• The Spartans earned advantages in three team statistical categories over Daemen: Points off Turnovers (13-10), Points in the Paint (16-8) and Bench Points (14-4).
• The game featured no ties and no lead changes.
• St. Thomas Aquinas trailed Daemen 29-24 at the half and shot just 31.3 percent (10-of-32) from the field.
• Syrita Faraj led all Spartans scorers with nine first half points, while shooting 40.0 percent (4-of-10) from the field.
• Despite the slow start in the first quarter, the maroon and gold outscored Daemen 43-33 the rest of the way and held the hosts to just four total points in the second stanza.

DAEMEN NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Seven Wildcats logged double-digit minutes in the contest. 
• Teammates Danielle DiCintio and Claire Pikett scored in double figures, recording 17 points apiece. Sophie Auer added 11 points to the Daemen scoring totals.
• Auer also led Daemen with five assists on the night.
• DiCintio went 4-for-14 from the floor, 3-of-11 from three and 6-of-6 from the foul line, with Pikett hitting 7 of her 13 field goal attempts and three connecting from beyond the arc.
• Cecilia Lapertosa grabbed a team-high eight boards for the Wildcats.
• Daemen picked up seven steals, with the Spartans turning the ball over on 12 separate occasions.
• The Wildcats earned advantages in two team statistical categories over St. Thomas Aquinas: Second Chance Points (4-0) and Fastbreak Points (5-3).
• Daemen had its largest lead of the game (18 points) with 90 seconds to play in the opening frame, 25-7, on a Claire Pikett jumper.
• Claire Pikett led all scorers at the half with 12 points on 5-of-7 (71.4 percent) shooting from the field.
• Daemen's best shooting quarter came in the first stanza, with the Wildcats shooting 60.0 percent (9-15) from the field and 63.6 percent (7-11) from beyond the arc.

UP NEXT:

STAC continues their two-game Western New York road trip, visiting D'Youville University on Sunday, December 15. The Spartans and Saints are scheduled to get underway at 1:00 p.m. inside of the Saints Center in Buffalo.